The buck didn’t stop with the court officer on duty when accused rapist Anthony Flye fled from St. Luke’s Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, it went all the way to the Sheriff’s Office, said David J. Holway, national president of NAGE, the union representing the court workers.

Jay Pateakos

The buck didn’t stop with the court officer on duty when accused rapist Anthony Flye fled from St. Luke’s Hospital Tuesday afternoon, it went all the way to the Sheriff’s Office, said David J. Holway, national president of NAGE, the union representing the trial court workers.

Citing calls placed to the Sheriff’s Department by New Bedford court officers after Flye was injured in a fall from the second-floor balcony of New Bedford Superior Court, Holway said the blame behind Flye’s escape belongs solely with the Sheriff’s Department.

Flye, wanted on charges of indecent assault and battery on a disabled person, incest and rape of a child under the age of 16, escaped from court officer’s custody at St. Luke’s Hospital late Tuesday afternoon.

Holway said court officers made several calls to the Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday between 12:15 p.m., immediately after the accident occurred, to after 4 p.m. requesting the approximate time of arrival for the sheriff’s “move team.”

Holway said the sheriff’s move team took nearly five hours to arrive to look after the prisoner.

“An unarmed court officer who was alone, assumed custody of the inmate and made repeated calls to the Bristol County sheriff, inquiring about their arrival time,” said Holway. “Don’t they have a prison in New Bedford? Why did it take them so long to respond, considering it was their prisoner? Those are the questions you should be asking.”

In his Wednesday news conference, Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said court officer David Jackson did not notify authorities for some time after Flye’s escape, but Holway said Jackson phoned the Sheriff’s Office several times, including at 4 p.m., while Flye was undergoing testing, to inquire again about the “move team’s” arrival time.

Refuting Hodgson’s claims in a lack of communication on Jackson’s part, Holway said when Flye escaped, Jackson immediately phoned hospital security, New Bedford police and his own management.

“He didn’t just sit there, he took the appropriate action,” said Holway.

Hodgson countered that his staff took a 12:45 p.m. call that Flye was being transported to the hospital but that no one asked to be relieved until 3 p.m., which is when his department began trying to fill the shift internally. Two correctional officers had already been sent out to a detail at 3 p.m. at Charlton Memorial Hospital. The sheriff said that due to staffing issues, it took some time to get people to the hospital.

“It’s important to point out that at that time, we were not responding to an emergency. He didn’t actually escape until around 4:10 p.m.,” said Hodgson.

He said he didn’t know the particulars behind his staff trying to fill the shift, but said that no matter what time they did show up, Flye was the responsibility of the courts until the sheriff’s officers show up, as is with any transfer case.

Hodgson said both he and Massachusetts Director of Court Security Thomas J. Connolly will meet again in seven to 10 days to iron out plans on improving both systems that may include training and protocol improvements.

“People in our agencies make mistakes. It’s something that just happens. It’s not about finger-pointing. The officer made a mistake in judgement that I’m sure he wants to have back,” said Hodgson. “We need to fix this to make sure that it won’t ever happen again.”

New information on the escape was also furnished after Hodgson sat down with Connolly and an interview was conducted with Jackson, a 13-year veteran.

Hodgson said Flye was originally escorted to St. Luke’s by New Bedford police at around 1:18 p.m. He said Jackson took over custody of Flye at 1:30 p.m. at the hospital where Flye received a battery of tests, including a CAT-Scan.

Although it was previously reported that Jackson allowed Flye to make a phone call, Jackson told officials Thursday that that call was never made.

Flye, who was in handcuffs and shackles at the courthouse before he dove over the banister, as well as during the ambulance ride and three-hour hospital stay, did ask Jackson to use the bathroom, at which time both his handcuffs and the leg shackles were removed by Jackson. Flye would escape out the second door of the adjoining bathroom.

In a 5 p.m. statement issued by the Massachusetts Trial Court Security Department, Connolly said proper security protocol requires that two court officers accompany a prisoner to the hospital and that the prisoner be restrained and kept in sight court officers in charge at all times.

He said at the conclusion of the internal investigation, a determination will be made whether disciplinary measures will be warranted.